Harry Styles is deeply uncomfortable being considered a sex symbol.

The singer and One Direction star said thinking about himself as the focus of sexual attention was “weird”.

He said that sex used to be a taboo for him, and he did not enjoy the thought that people imagined or discussed his relationships.

Harry Styles
Harry Styles says he feels uncomfortable being considered a sex symbol (Isabel Infantes/PA)

Styles spoke to Zane Lowe on the presenter’s Apple Music radio show.

The singer said of his supposed sex symbol status: “So uncomfortable. Honestly, I’d say I try and think about it as little as possible, because it’s a very strange, dynamic thing.

“It’s also like a weird thing to think of about yourself.

“I guess the thing with like sex, in general, is like, it used to feel so much more taboo for me.

One Direction
Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, Harry Styles and Niall Horan formerly of One Direction (Joe Giddens/PA)

“Even like when we were in the band, the thought of people thinking that I had sex was like, oh no, that’s crazy. What if they know?”

Styles said he has become more relaxed about sexuality in his public life, although he finds tabloid treatment of performers’ personal lives painful.

He said: “I think a lot of the time, when there’s tabloid stuff, for example, of people breaking up, I think people forget that there’s a person who’s also broken up with someone, which is sad. You get sad when you break up with someone.”

The full interview with Styles can be heard on Apple Music.